Mason and Ball canning jars, a brief history.

As with almost every product imaginable, there has been hundreds of patents issued for jars or containers for the purpose of food preservation, but when you think of canning jars, two names come to mind, Mason and Ball.

In 1858, John Landis Mason developed and patented a shoulder-seal jar with a zinc screw cap. The "Mason jar" had a threaded neck, which fit with the threads in a metal cap to screw down to the shoulder of the jar and in this way form a seal.

In 1869, a top seal above the threads and under a glass lid was introduced to the jar. The screw cap pressed tightly against the inverted lid, with rubber seal underneath, thus affecting an excellent seal. Preserving food in a glass home canning jar had now been taken a step further. A type of this closure still is in use today, although augmented with various other closure designs.

As commercial canning production improved, efficiency of the distribution of prepared food products improving lowering the price, and with the advent of home freezers, canning lost popularity. Taking this into account some people are unaware of names that are synonymous with home canning such as Mason and Ball. We are reminded of a humorous incident when an acquaintance of ours overheard the name Mason in a conversation, and asked, "Isn't that what they bury Masons In?" Obviously the lady had confused a home canning jar with a funeral urn.

When the patent held by John Mason expired in 1879, manufacturers of such jars continued to use the term "Mason" on their product. Making the name Mason almost a generic term for a glass canning jar. . Lucius Styles Ball, who started the Ball Brothers Company in the early 1890s, was one such manufacturer. Alfred Bernardin invented the first metal tops to be used in commercial canning in 1881. These two companies joined forces as recently as 1993, to form the Alltrista Corporation, is the largest producer of Mason jars today.

A history of fruit jars wouldn't be complete without mentioning the Ball Company. Although the company did not necessarily advance the technology of home canning, per se, it did make a major contribution to the industry by becoming the most prolific producer of jars.

As you may also know, antique jars and lids are highly prized by collectors, with numerous web sites and printed publications telling of the value of such as well as helpful hints and tips in starting a collection.

From The MessageTree Kitchen Home Canning submitted by: Ann Crabtree To some of us the work of home canning, conjures up visions of grandmother spending endless hot hours over a stove, diligently working just to insure the family had plenty to eat during the upcoming long hard winter. It used to be that nearly everyone who had a garden put something up for the cold months. Simply put, raising a garden and canning was their way of life. Then seems that over the years, lack of time "to do yourself" or perhaps "progress" has eradicated that lifestyle into nothing but a fading memory. What with the hustle and bustle of this modern day life, wherein we can so conveniently "drive up," " run through," "call up," pour water hot over it, "order out," microwave it, etcetera, well you get the picture, why bother with gardening and home canning? But stop for a moment and really think about it, what are we really eating? Do you know, I repeat DO YOU REALLY KNOW what you are eating? Do you know what's in it, who prepared it, how it was prepared? I think not! With today's concerns of the safety of our food, it is time to resurrect this time-honored tradition. By canning your own food, you control how it's prepared and what goes into it. You are not forced to eat foods with additives and pesticides, or somehow altered and the lasting effects of such experimentation will only be revealed in some future time. Now that Summer has arrived it is time to put this time honored process in motion. Many foods turn out to be more tastier, better home canned, than frozen, however start out with the foods you like best. In this article, I will be guiding the beginner canner through the canning steps, from equipment needed to the finished product. For the beginning canner, I will start with the two vegetables - tomatoes and green beans - so be sure to add these to your garden or if you don't intend to grow a garden, seek out homegrown supplies at your local farmers markets. For the beginner canner, first let's start with canning equipment. Successful canning requires little equipment. All you need is a canner, (which you can obtain one from your local dept. or discount store or possible at a garage sale or perhaps Mom or Grandma will have one you can borrow,) along with jars and lids, however a few small items will make the job a lot easier. With good care everything but the lids will last for years and can be used over and over. There are two types of canners, the water bath canner and the pressure canner. The water bath canner is nothing more than a pot with a wire rack to hold jars and allow water to circulate around and under the jars. The most common bath canners are made of black enamel with tiny white spots. The most important requirement is that it be at least 9-1/2 inches deep, so there is plenty of room for the water to boil around the standard 7-1/2-inch-tall jars. Pressure canners work like pressure cookers. The pot has a tight-fitting lid with a pressure regulator. When the water inside is heated, it turns to steam. The pressure builds up and the pressure gauge rises. All pressure canners have a safety device that blows if the pressure gets too high. This device is called a petcock. A pressure canner has one of two types of pressure regulators, a dial gauge or a weighted regulator. Next purchase your jars. Here there are several things to you will want to consider.   Pick jars made especially for canning. These are a heavier looking quart or pint jar usually with a trademark name on it such as Kerr or Ball. Decide which size jar you will use. If you are canning for a single person, or are looking for easy single-meal servings, try pints. This eliminates leftovers and stretches your produce use. If canning for a family use quarts. This is the easiest size jar to can with. Do not use any jars that are imperfect. Check for nicks, cracks, and sharp edges. Wash jars in warm soapy water and rinse. Now to choose canning lids. The two-piece lids,are recommended for beginners because they can be easily checked to see if they are completely sealed, which consist of a screw band and a vacuum lid. Next a jar lifter is a necessary tool to lift jars out of boiling water, this will prevent burning your hands or wetting a potholder. And a wide-mouth funnel will come in handy for filling jars. I perfer Stainless steel , but plastic will be just fine. And finally last but not least you will need a colander or sieve, along with a ladle and measuring cups. Let's get started with canning our vegetables. First don't be afraid to start the process, many people don't can because they are simply afraid, just remember, canning is nothing more than a series of simple logical steps. First lets do our tomatoes, which can be canned in a water-bath canner.   Select enough tomatoes to fill your canner. (2-1/2 to 3 lbs) will fill a quart jar. Wash the tomatoes, remove the core and cut out any bad spots. Put the tomatoes into boiling water using a ladle or wire basket. Hold them in until the skin cracks, (about 30 seconds). Remove and dip in cold water. The skins should slip off. Quarter the tomatoes and pack them into jars to within 1/2 inch of the top of the jar. With a wooden spoon gently press the tomatoes to release the juice and fill up the air spaces. If there isn't enough juice, add hot water to within 1/2 inch of the top. Remove any remaining air pockets from the filled jars by running a knife along the inside of the jar. Wipe the tops and threads of the jars clean and screw the vacuum lids on with a band. Place the closed jars into the wire rack and lower into the canner. The water should be 2 inches over the top of the jars. Put the lid on and bring the water to a boil. Begin to count time as soon as the water begins to boil. Quarts need 45 minutes and pints 35 minutes. Check periodically to add more water as needed to keep the jars covered. When the time is up, remove the jars and cool, making sure air can circulate freely around the jars. When the jars are cool, check the seals by pressing down on the center of the lid. If the dimple in the center of the lid stays down, the seal is good. Label the jars as to the date canned, and store in a cool, dark place. Now, let's can green beans, using the pressure canner. Start by washing the beans and then snipping off the tops and bottoms of the beans (called tip/top) Cut the beans into one-inch pieces or run them through a french-beaner. Pack the beans into jars that have been washed in warm soapy water and rinsed. Pack to within 1/2 inch of the top of the jar. Pour in enough water to cover the beans. Remove any air pockets by running a knife along the inside of the jar. Add salt if desired. Wipe the tops and threads of the jars and screw on the lids. Set the jars on a rack in the canner so the steam can circulate freely. Add two to three inches of water to the canner and start to boil. Fasten on the canner lid securely and let steam escape through the weighted gauge opening or the petcock. Allow the steam to escape through the opening for a few minutes to drive the air from the canner. Close the petcock or the gauge and let the pressure rise to the desired level. For green beans you can choose 10 lbs of pressure; 20 minutes for pints or 25 minutes for quarts. Or use 15 lbs of pressure for 15 minutes for both pints and quarts. Start counting time as soon as the desired pressure is reached and process for the required time. Keep the pressure as uniform as possible by regulating the heat. At the end of the processing time, remove the canner from the heat. Let the canner stand until the pressure returns to zero. Slowly open the petcock or remove the weighted gauge. Unfasten the canner lid tilting away from you to allow the steam to escape away. Remove the jars to cool and check the seals once cooled. Label and store. Now that you've learned that canning is more than a low-cost way to keep food, the benefits of canning become even more obvious. An over abundance of some produce, such as tomatoes, can be frozen for winter canning. There are all kinds of specialty foods you can make in your kitchen and they make nice gifts to give to relatives and friends Happy canning! From The Message Tree Kitchen. Handy links relative to this article; From The University of Missouri Extension Service Find A Farmers Market In Missouri. Canning Food Boiling Water Bath Method Canning Salsa Canning With a Pressure Canner Checking For Spoilage How Long is Canned Food Safe How To Vent The Canner Re-Processing Unsealed Jars Tomatoes Acidification Using and Preserving Zucchini and Summer Squash Why Lids Don’t Seal Check out Home Canning.com These are the same folks that make the popular canning hars and supplies, here you will find all sorts of interesting recipes and articles,